NOTICE – PLEASE READ THIS INTRO: This article is long and Google wants me to shorten it. I have therefore divided it up into several shorter pages. All the information is remains. But it means that the contents at the begin no longer work. I have kept them so that you can see how I have categorised the page. You’ll see pagination links at the base of each section on separate pages. Please click them to move to the next page. Thanks, and sorry for the inconvenience but this article was written years ago when the internet was an entirely different place.
Contents (note these links no longer work as the page is now divided up):
Introduction – on page one
This section goes over the issues in trying to find the rare breeds.
Fringe cat breeds
This section lists some very little-known cat breeds, some current and some variants. Lesser-known cat breeds or emerging cat breeds are bound to be the rarest,
Criteria for selecting rare cats from mainstream breeds
I have devised a new, common-sense criteria based on information freely available.
List of rare cat breeds
This is a list of the more established domestic cat breeds with the rare ones picked out.
Conclusions
This section sets out some conclusions and thoughts on the results.
Sources
List of sources for this article
This page contains guidelines on rarity, popularity and numbers of breeders.
The world’s rarest cat wild or domestic is probably the Borneo Bay Cat
Date of post: early 2008. Remember things are always changing but this page remains accurate 4 years later in 2013. The criteria for deciding which are the rare cat breeds is easy, on the face of it. They will be the cat breeds with the least number of cats. However, it is not as easy as that but it is possible to discover the rare cat breeds with a satisfactory level of usefulness using common sense methods.
At one time there was very little about rare cat breeds on the ‘net despite the fact that if something can be done it is done a lot on the internet. That was the case at 2008! Things have changed in 2013, probably because people followed the ideas presented on this page. There are now many more pages on the subject.
There needs to be an approach that has a degree of science in it. The first hurdle is to decide what a cat breed is. For the purpose of this exercise I am confining myself to domestic cat breeds. A cat breed is obviously a part of the classification of domestic cats. The point is, upon whom do we rely to make the classification? The associations have different ideas (see below) and some breeds are rare and have been classified by people (or a person) other than recognized bodies.
Above Photo of Elf Cat: copyright Kristen Leedom – this cat is not recognized by the cat associations (at 2008) and has only recently been created. This cat is bound to be rare therefore. Note: update years later: I think this new breed is no defunct.
Hello! My Dwelf littens will born in 5-10 May.Ofcourse, i will write about my new kittens. You can see my Dwelf and Elf cats on my page FB https://www.facebook.com/GrandSphynx/info
Nataliya
Hello!
I can help you get a kitten Dwelf. I am a breeder of Sphynx, but in February of this year, I brought a cat from America. (This is still the only cat in Russia). Now our girl is pregnant and we are expecting kittens born Dwelf.
email me at Email newsletters grsphynx@yandex.ru
Natalia.
When they are born, please come back and write an article about your Dwelf kittens, please. There is a form you can complete on the home page.
I have a Scottish fold white Siamese Manx I cannot find a breed for that if anyone out there can help me I’d greatly appriciate it please I breed my full blood Siamese Manx to my full blood Scottish fold I will post pics on my face book on Jennifer berck in a couple days if anyone would be interested in viewing and if they could tell me if thease cities are worth anything thank you
Hi Michael,
Wow, I really appreciate the good scientific approach you’ve used and the thoroughness of your analysis. Nice that you researched so many good sources to gather data and your data analysis is impressive.
Found some breeds on your list I’ve never heard of. That’s a good sign for a rarity page. I consider myself to be fairly well versed in domestic cat breeds. Always nice to discover “new” breeds.
From your list, the Savannah and Serval are some interesting larger domestic cats. I’ve actually seen people bring those things into pet stores. The customers either get real nervous or very intrigued. Some end up asking if they can stand next to those cats to get their picture taken. Beautiful cats and they would be interesting to have around.
Also on your list is a long haired cat that likes to swim. It’s an unusual thing to see. You might like to check it out.
I hear you on the fad thing. A lot of breeders really are trying every possible combination to make a healthy buck. Problem is birth defects and kitten mortality rate. Some people were born cold I guess.
Thanx for the study,
=^-^= Hairless Cat Girl =^-^=
The one with dual eye color is really rare!
I have a question about a cat that was on TV today. The Egyptian Koraku {?spelling} is apparently the only cat that can catch a flying bird in midair. They have lynx like ears with the sprig on hair pointing upward off the tips, and are orange-tan colored.
I’d like more information on this breed. They apparently get large and have been somewhat interbred with common cats like Savannah cats{mostly to bring them down in size and temperment}.
Any information would be appreciated. Thank you.
Hi, the first cat to come to my mind is the medium sized wild cat species called a caracal. This cat is famously athletic and is known to catch birds in flight as they take off. They have the longest lynx tips to their ears of all the cats, wild or domestic. They are tan colored too. They are not domesticated normally. In days gone by, people did tame them to hunt for them. I have never heard of the name Egyptian Koraku. They do live in Egypt however and over large parts of Africa and the Middle East.
have a question I have a blue around the face a little white on the face this the only kitten iv seen this color ackward plz email me bac don’t have no pics at this timr.